聋 (lóng): deaf

Meanings

1 deaf

Characters

聋

lóng

deaf

Examples

HSK 5

音乐声太大，我快聋了。

Yīnyuè shēng tài dà, wǒ kuài lóng le.

The music is so loud, I'm going deaf.

HSK 7-9

他天生就是聋的。

Tā tiānshēng jiùshì lóng de.

He was born deaf.

Tips

memory

The traditional form 聾 contains 耳 (ear) at the bottom - a deaf person's ears don't work. The simplified form 聋 keeps 耳 as a component on the left.

Components

radical

耳 ěr

ear

Ear radical at the bottom - the indexing radical. Pictures an ear in profile and supplies the meaning: 聋 is an ear that has gone silent, hence 'deaf.' Same radical heads 听 (listen), 聪 (sharp-eared, clever), 职 (duty, originally something heard from a superior).

phonetic

龙 lóng

dragon

龙 on top supplies the sound exactly. This is the simplified swap-in for traditional 龍 in 聾 → 聋. The same phonetic anchors 笼 (cage), 拢 (gather) and 胧 (dim) - a tight lóng family. The choice is purely sonic; meaning here belongs entirely to the ear below.